OwnAmerica Identifies Top 25 U.S. Housing Investment Markets

September 09, 2013 04:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time

RYE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OwnAmerica CEO, Gregory Rand, has identified the top 25 residential real
estate investment markets using the firm's proprietary methodology,
based on time-tested metrics and local expertise on the ground in each
community. Selection of winning investment markets is driven by a
dynamic algorithm based on four distinct informational categories.

Housing demand fundamentals:

Population growth, migration patterns, employment strength, cost of
living, quality of life, future rental demand and responsible
governance. Markets emerge as winners in this category based on evidence
that people are drawn to the market for reasons that are demonstrable
and sustainable for the long term. Population growth = housing demand,
which supports strength in both rents and values.

Home price performance:

Markets are chosen not for their near-term appreciation or perceived
discount, but for their predictability based on how they performed over
the past fifteen years or longer. This longer-term time table was chosen
to include three key periods of time:

1. Late 1990s: uneventful period where a trend line can be established
under calm conditions;

Markets with stable and unshakeable appreciation rank higher. Markets
that have demonstrated the greatest volatility, and therefore
unpredictability, fall lower on the list.

Locally verified net yield:

Certified field operatives conduct due diligence on single family assets
in a variety of geographic segments for each market analyzed. An
underwriting standard is applied to all markets uniformly to establish a
baseline yield that each market provides as “face value” (good condition
at market value and rent). It is our assertion that any yield data that
is not locally verified as to condition, price and rent potential is not
of institutional quality.

Economic Development:

Major economic development trends are tracked to find those cities that
have captured opportunities, effected turnarounds, and/or have some
other wild card benefit that compels OwnAmerica to elevate its rank.

While this is a ranking of winning cities, it also represents an ideal
mix of markets that are best aggregated together. Geographic mix offers
diversity or opportunity and risk. This list of winners represents a
balanced portfolio of American cities that OwnAmerica believes will
provide the highest long-term returns with the lowest risk.